Sessions: Any claim of Russia collusion is a ‘detestable lie’
WASHINGTON Embattled Attorney General Jeff Sessions told the Senate intelligence committee on Tuesday that any suggestion he colluded with Russian officials while he was advising the Trump campaign is “an appalling and detestable lie.”
Sessions called the implication that he took part in an influence campaign against an American election “beyond” both his reach and the plot of the most outrageous spy novels and movies.
“It’s just like ‘Through the Looking Glass,’ ” Sessions said.
Sessions also said he could “not recall” a reported meeting with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during an April 2016 campaign event at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington that has recently been in the news.
“I did not have any private meetings nor do I recall any conversations with any Russian officials at the Mayflower Hotel,” Sessions testified. “I did not attend any meetings at that event. Prior to the speech (by then-candidate Donald Trump), I attended a reception with my staff that included at least two dozen people and President Trump. Though I do recall several conversations I had during that pre-speech reception, I do not have any recollection of meeting or talking to the Russian ambassador or any other Russian officials.”
Sessions displayed flashes of anger during questioning by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., when the senator pressed him about suggestions that he had failed to provide full disclosure about his meetings with Kislyak.
Bouncing in his chair, the at- torney general asserted that “secret innuendo is being leaked out there about me. People are suggesting through innuendo that I’m not being honest about matters.’’
Sessions said he has not been briefed on the FBI’s investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election since becoming attorney general because he had begun considering his recusal from the Russia matter immediately after taking office.
“I have no knowledge of the investigation beyond what has been reported in the press,” Sessions said. “And I don’t even read that.”
Sessions testified in an extraordinary public session in which senators grilled the nation’s chief law enforcement officer on his previous contacts with Kislyak and his involvement in the firing of FBI Director James Comey.
The attorney general said it would be “absurd to suggest that a recusal from a single investigation would prevent me from managing an agency,” including the employment of the FBI director.
Sessions repeatedly maintained that he was right to participate in Comey’s firing.
“It is my responsibility,” he said. “The recusal involved one case in the Department of Justice and the FBI. I’m the attorney general of the United States. It’s my responsibility to ensure that the department is run properly.”
Sessions challenged Comey’s testimony that Sessions failed to act on his concerns about Trump’s direct contact with Comey on Feb. 14. The former FBI director said in that meeting, the president urged him to drop the FBI investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Sessions said Comey indeed expressed concern about the nature of the contact, but he did not disclose the content of his meeting with Trump. But the attorney general said he acted on Comey’s concern, urging caution in future contacts between the White House and FBI.
“I encouraged him to do just that,” Sessions said.